Govt, students set ground rules for talks this week

Government officials and student leaders of the pro-democracy protests will hold public discussions on political reform starting this week after establishing broad principles for the dialogue.

Representatives of the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and government officials led by Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Lau Kong-wah have agreed to hold several sessions for the dialogue, that direct and mutual respect will be observed during the process, and that the government will implement any consensus reached, Ming Pao Daily reported Tuesday.

The two sides held a preliminary meeting on Sunday, reached a consensus on the basic principles to govern the discussions on Monday, and will finalize details of the dialogue, including the agenda and venue of the meetings, today.

Lester Shum, HKFS deputy secretary-general, said the dialogue should not be conducted under the electoral reform framework set by Beijing for the 2017 chief executive election.

The students also insisted that government should not attempt to force the protesters to abandon their positions in Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, which they have occupied since Sept. 28.

Police should only deal with those resorting to violence rather than suppress the pro-democracy activists.

As to whether other organizers of the Occupy civil disobedience campaign will join the dialogue, Shum said more discussions with the different groups are needed.

Benny Tai, one of the convenors of the original Occupy Central movement, said he hoped the discussions would lead to quick government response to the protesters’ demands.

In an emotional but expected postscript to the 2014 Occupy Movement, the Court of Appeal on Thursday sentenced three student leaders who kicked off the 79-day pro-democracy protests to prison sentences of six to...

Singapore has surpassed Hong Kong in the annual global livability rankings list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In the latest report from the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, Hong Kong...

Participants in this year’s Food Expo are generally optimistic about their sales outlook, noting that visitors are likely to spend more than last year because of the tempting bargains. The 28th edition of the...

Police busted an Instagram investment scam and arrested 10 people, including a 14-year-old boy, Apple Daily reports. The boy had used his mother’s name to open an account and his father’s passbook to collect...

The government continues to face questions over planned joint checkpoint arrangements for the cross-border high-speed rail, but the controversy has so far failed to dent the approval ratings of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and...

Emily Lau Wai-hing, former chairperson of the Democratic Party, defended party member Howard Lam Tsz-kin over his claims that he was kidnapped and tortured by mainland security agents. The allegations came to light during...

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alex Chow Yong-kang and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, the three former student leaders who were found guilty in July last year of taking part in an unlawful assembly in 2014, said they...

“Twenty” is the watchword throughout Hong Kong as it celebrates two decades under Chinese rule. But the masses are unimpressed by the fanfare. It appears that the city’s post-handover journey has turned out to...